Cable fastener



July 26, 1966 A. GASTALDI CABLE FASTENER Filed Nov. 5, 1964 United States Patent 3,262,662 CABLE FASTENER Andr Gastaldi, Fontaine, France, assignor to A. Raymond, Grenoble, France, a firm Filed Nov. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 408,527 Claims priority, application France, Dec. 9, 1963, 956,941 6 Claims. (Cl. 24868) The present invention relates generally to a detachable, resilient clamp or clamps and more particularly a clamp designed to fasten articles of elongated form such as cables, particularly electrical cables, tubes, bars, etc., along a support such as a wall, partition, etc.

The clamp includes a substantially U-shaped frame having a flat base, vertically upstanding side portions and a plurality of legs which have been folded one over the other substantially parallel to the base; the legs each having a depression in which cables or other elongated articles are held, and the base being provided with fastening means in the form of springlike tongues adapted to frictionally grip a pin projecting from the support. The edges of the frame of the clamp are preferably folded to the outside to provide flanges which give more rigidity to that portion of the clamp and to provide a space between the base of the clamp and the support in order that a locking ring may be seated on the pin.

An object of the invention is to provide a clamp which will support an elongated article such as a cable at a certain distance from a support.

Another object of the invention is to provide a clamp wherein one of the legs protects the article being supported, particularly a cable sheath from any possible scratching, puncturing or other damage by the assembly pm.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive clamp which is universally adapted to receive and retain elongated articles having different diameters.

Other objects and advantages of the novel clamp will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with a viewing of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a clamp according to the invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are similar views of variants; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views depicting clamps similar to those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 supporting one and two cables respectively alongside a support.

In the embodiment represented in the drawing the clamp consists of a resilient band, for example, of spring steel having a substantially U-shaped frame including a generally flat base portion 1, a pair of side portions 2 and 3 which extend vertically upwardly from the base and integral legs and 21 which are connected to the sides and which have been folded over each other substantially parallel to the base 1. Each of the legs has longitudinal depressions which face each other and in which are seated the cable(s) or other elongated articles.

In FIG. 1 the portion 4 of the leg 20 has a substantially dihedral depression 6 while the portion 5 of the leg 21 comprises a rounded depression 7. The portion 5 is in addition reversely bent at 8 to provide a safe edge and to facilitate the positioning of a cable in the clamp.

In FIGS. 2 and 4 the depression 6 of the portion 4 is rounded like the depression 7 of the portion 5. The cable 9 is shown in place in the clamp, locked resiliently against the portions 4 and 5.

In FIG. 3 the portion 5 is cut transversely and the central part is folded to form a plurality of resilient legs 22, 23 and 24, permitting, on the one hand, a more powerful locking; and, on the other hand, the fastening of 3,262,662 Patented July 26, 1966 cables or other elongated articles with very different diameters.

In FIG. 5 each portion 4a and 5a has several depressions 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b which permit the reception of several cables 9a, 9b which may have diflerent diameters. This type of clamp might very well include a plurality of resilient legs such as legs 22, 23 and 24 shown in FIG. 3.

In all the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, the edges of the clamp are folded to the outside along the base 1 and the lower portion of the sides 2 and 3 to form flanges 11. The base isprovided with a hole 12 and a pair of springlike tongues 13 which are adapted to fasten the clamp to a pin 14 driven into the support 15 (FIGS. 4 and 5), for example a wall.

The flanges 11 provide increased rigidity to the U- shaped frame of the clamp and in addition are slightly notched at 11a to provide a space between the support 15 and the base 1 which in turn allows a locking ring 16 to be seated on the pin 14 as shown in FIGS 4 and 5.

The sides 2 and 3 are provided with openings 17 and 18 which permit one to release the tongues 13 by the use of pincers or any other suitable tool (not shown) in order to detach the clamp from the pin. It should be further noted that the tongues 13 have raised edges 19 to facilitate the gripping of the tongue wit-h pincers.

Not only does the portion 4 of the leg 20 protect the cable 9 from any damage by the head of the pin during its positioning; but it also acts to keep the cable at a predetermined distance from the support 15. In the case of electrical cables, this is frequently imposed by the specification; in addition, the cables are held substantially at the level of the connecting orifices of plugs, sockets, switches, and other electrical apparatus.

With reference to the foregoing description it is to be understood that what has been disclosed therein represents only a single embodiment of the invention and is to be construed as illustrative rather than restrictive in nature; and that the invention is best described by the following claims:

What is claimed is:

1. A one-piece clamp for securing cables, tubes and like elongated articles to a support comprising a generally U-shaped frame having a substantially flat base portion, a pair of side portions extending upwardly from opposite sides of the base, the external edges of said base portion and said side portions being folded outwardly of the frame to provide increased rigidity to the clamp. fastening means disposed on said base portion between said side portions, said fastening means being adapted to releasably engage a pin projecting from the support, and a plurality of resilient article-engaging legs integrally connected to said side portions, each of said legs extending towards the side portion opposite that to which it is connected and at least two of said legs being in spaced overlapping relationship and having a depression formed therein defining an elongated article-receiving area therebetween.

2. A clamp according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said legs has a reverse bend portion directed away from other of said legs to provide a safe edge and facilitate the positioning of an elongated article intermediate said legs.

3. A clamp according to claim 1 in which said fastening means is in the form of a pair of springlike tongues integrally connected to and extending angularly from said base portion.

4. A one-piece clamp according to claim 1 wherein said resilient legs are four in number.

5. An installation comprising in combination an imperforate support, a pin inserted in and projecting there- 3 from, a locking ring, a one-piece clamp fastened to the projecting portion of said pin and at least one elongated article supported by said clamp in spaced substantially parallel relationship with respect to said support, said clamp comprising a generally U-shaped frame including a substantially fiat base portion, a pair of side portions extending upwardly from the opposite sides of said base portion fastening means disposed on said base portion between said side portions in tight frictional engagement with said projecting portion of said pin and a plurality of resilient article-engaging legs integrally connected to said side portions, at least two of said legs being folded over one another in spaced substantially parallel relationship with respect to each other and said base, and each having a depression therein defining an area between said legs in which said elongated article is seated,

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,873,881 8/1932 Hall 2473 1,963,908 6/1934 Manasek 24874 2,230,916 2/1941 Tinnerman 85-36 2,948,940 8/1960 Degener 24874 X 3,066,902 12/1962 Conil 248223 CLAUDE E. LE ROY, Primary Examiner. 

1. A ONE-PIECE CLAMP FOR SECURING CABLES, TUBES AND LIKE ELONGATED ARTICLES TO A SUPPORT COMPRISING A GENERALLY U-SHAPED FRAME HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT BASE PORTION, A PAIR OF SIDE PORTIONS EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE BASE, THE EXTERNAL EDGES OF SAID BASE PORTION AND SAID SIDE PORTIONS BEING FOLDED OUTWARDLY OF THE FRAME TO PROVIDE INCREASED RIGIDITY TO THE CLAMP. FASTENING MEANS DISPOSED ON SAID BASE PORTION BETWEEN SAID SIDE PORTIONS, SAID FASTENING MEANS BEING ADAPTED TO RELEASABLY ENGAGE A PIN PROJECTING FROM THE SUPPORT, AND A PLURALITY OF RESILIENT ARTICLE-ENGAGING LEGS INTEGRALLY CONNECTED TO SAID SIDE PORTIONS, EACH OF SAID LEGS EXTENDING TOWARDS THE SIDE PORTION OPPOSITE THAT TO WHICH IT IS CONNECTED AND AT LEAST TWO OF SAID LEGS BEING IN SPACED OVERLAPPING RELATIONSHIP AND HAVING A DEPRESSION FORMED THEREIN DEFINING AN ELONGATED ARTICLE-RECEIVING AREA THEREBETWEEN. 